Question of the Day

Should Trump keep Pence on the ticket in 2020?

Police chief fired for 'orangutan' remarkST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The police chief of St. Petersburg was fired for racial divisiveness in comparing a suspect who resisted arrest to an orangutan, a police spokesman said yesterday.St. Petersburg Chief Mack Vines, 63, was fired Tuesday, just 74 days after he took the city's top law enforcement job.Chief Vines told a local television station that he was "embarrassed" and "humiliated," but did not understand the decision of Mayor Rick Baker.During a Dec. 4 meeting with detectives about appropriate force, Chief Vines commented on the recent arrest of a black man who had to be dragged out of his vehicle. "It may take more than one officer to get a subject under control, especially if that person is acting like an orangutan," said Chief Vines, who is white.

Navy crew barges onto oil tankerThe crew of a U.S. Navy ship forcibly boarded a Belize-flagged Saudi oil tanker in the northern Arabian Gulf yesterday after the tanker refused permission to board and ignored repeated requests for information about its cargo, U.S. officials said.Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Lapan said a small explosive was detonated against a door to gain access to the tanker but no shots were fired. Lt. Col. Lapan said a member of the tanker's crew was slightly injured in the leg by flying debris from the explosive charge.The ship was suspected of violating the U.N. oil embargo against Iraq, but the boarding team determined otherwise and let the tanker proceed.

Couric inks deal to stay as 'Today' hostNEW YORK Katie Couric has agreed to stay as host of the "Today" show for several more years with a new contract that ends an anxiety-producing courtship for NBC.Neither Miss Couric nor the network would comment yesterday on published reports that the contract, which stretches through 2006, was worth as much as $65 million and could make her the highest-paid personality in TV news.Miss Couric said she would "probably" stay on "Today" for the contract's duration, although there is flexibility to do other things. She'll do some prime-time specials and "Dateline NBC" reports.

Miss America pageant courts other citiesATLANTIC CITY, N.J. After 80 years here, the Miss America pageant says it will look for a new suitor unless it can get more money from the state to keep the event in Atlantic City.Robert M. Renneisen Jr., the pageant's chief executive officer, said the pageant needed to cut costs by nearly $1 million to stay. He called on state and city officials to "step up to the plate" with concessions and money."We think we should stay, but we can't take that to the bank," Mr. Renneisen said.Four alternate venues have made offers to play pageant host. Mr. Renneisen said one offer would mean a $692,000 profit, against a projected $603,000 loss in Atlantic City.

Fugitive in killing to get a free lawyerPHILADELPHIA Ira Einhorn, an international fugitive for two decades after being accused of killing his girlfriend, will get a court-appointed lawyer for his new murder trial because he says he is broke.Mr. Einhorn, 61, told Common Pleas Judge D. Webster Keough yesterday that he had not earned a paycheck in more than 20 years. He said he had no real estate or bank accounts, and no assets jointly held with his wife, who comes from a wealthy family.Asked about his last regular income, Mr. Einhorn laughed and said: "It's a very good question."

Judge tells celebs to stop bickeringLOS ANGELES A judge has dismissed former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson's bid to win sole custody of her children, instead ordering her and ex-husband Tommy Lee to stop running each other down in front of their children. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lee Edmon late Tuesday also told the former Motley Crue drummer not to "ride minor children on motorcycles."